When the Ocean Calls
by WorldWide
Summary: "the crustations are my skin, the salt and water is what I breathe, everything that's me is here on the ocean floor, but I don't want it anymore, because all I want is you. You're my home and you claimed my heart far before the sea did". Kames and Cargan
1. Chapter 1

Hello All!Alright so this is my first fanfiction in a long time! bare with me here, I have aloooooot I want to do with this! so This story is under James and Carlos only because they're the POVs I switch from. this is a Kames and Cargan story folks. With a lot of Jarlos Kogan bromance. So it's cool. I'm thinking this will be roughly about 18 chapters, it'll be slow enough to the point I'm not rushing, but fast enought o keep your interest. In later chapters there will be smut and I will update about two to three times a week if possible! Feel free to leave your comments, criticism is cool just don't be rude! Cause that's not so cool. Sooo review :)

I'll be thinking about you worldwide...

_**Prologue**_

_It was one of those days. Where the sky was so blue, you could see the water particles dancing in the air like little diamonds as the breeze swept through. The sun was shining white and hot. It was one of those days that brought gaiety to any who stepped out in it. The coast of California was where one wanted to be .The ocean shone absolutely brilliantly, an accent to this picture perfect afternoon. A sick mixture of blues and greens, and as a young Carlos Garcia Jr. looked over the side of his father's ship, he figures, that a billion years ago these waters were so clear he would have been able to see the bottom. He giggled gleefully at the thought, mesmerized by the many mysteries of the sea. The ten year old Latino inhaled the salty air deeply and he couldn't help the grin that formed over his chubby features._

_'This is all I'm ever going to need', he thought happily, the sounds of the ocean lulling him in and out of his day dreams._

_"Hijo, away from the side you're way to close", his father spoke strictly. Carlos immediately heeded his father's warning and headed towards him on the deck. Carlos Garcia Sr. was his idol. A hard-working marine biologist, a loving husband, and a diligent father. Carlos loved his dad to the moon and back, and he felt his little heart swell when his father invited him on boat trips like this one._

_" Carlos you know the rule, two feet from the sides of the boat at all times", his father scolded lightly, "we don't want you being fish food okay hijo?" Carlos nodded quickly._

_"Kay papi!" His father ruffled his short black hair in adoration, his son being his pride and joy._

_"I'm holding you to that little one, hey, maybe you should ask Mr. Bitters if he needs any help steering hijo, he might need a look out", he pressed, hoping to keep the youth out of trouble. Carlos squealed in delight and agreed._

_"Aye, aye sir", Carlos mockingly saluted and ran to find the Captain of the ship. Mr. Bitters was just that, bitter. He was a round, middle-aged man who didn't care in the slightest about sparing the feelings of others he found inadequate. He was a man whose dreams had died, and you could tell by the inflection in his voice and the added weight in his step. His face was always laced with a deep scowl, even when he was smiling. Most were afraid to approach Mr. Bitters, but Carlos was an exception. He loved pushing the obese man's buttons. He toddled right on over and grabbed at the cheap flower printed fabric of the Captain's shirt. Bitters rolled his eyes as soon as he saw Carlos beaming up at him._

_"What do you want pest", Bitters spat. Carlos just let out a boisterous laugh before standing at full attention and pulling his tiny hand to his head._

_"Captain sir, I've been instructed to be your lookout!" Another eye roll came from the tubby man, he still didn't know what compelled him to sail this ship day in and day out. Perhaps it was due to the fact he had a longstanding friendship with Garcia Sr., perhaps he just had a love for the briny blue, whatever it was Mr. Bitters was sure the bubbly little boy with the puppy dog eyes had nothing to do with it._

_"Have you now", he sneered, "well grab the scope and start looking out." Carlos hurried over to the telescope, grabbing it in his sticky little hands excitedly. He smiled at Mr. Bitters and scuttled back out to the main deck. The strong scent of seaweed and sunrays hit his nostrils as he exited the Bridge. He started towards the Bow, rushing by many of his dad's friends and co-workers. He waved hastily at them all before reaching his destination. He put the scope up to his right eye and closed the other one in concentration. He stuck his tongue out in the most adorable way, while he scanned the open mass. Any boy was it just an open mass._

_The waves rolled lazily and the gulls sang overhead, but besides that there seemed to be no irregular movement. He turned to the left sharply slowly making his way back to the right, hoping to see the glistening grey fin of a dolphin or the spout of water that sparkled from a whales blowhole. He was having no such luck. All he saw was the point where the blue water turned into the even more blue sky. Boring. Being the impatient kid he was, Carlos sighed in defeat puffing his cheeks out a little to show his displeasure. He knew so much life lived underneath the surface, it was its on ecosystem for god's sake! So why were they choosing to hide on such a beautiful day? Carlos stepped away from the Bow and found himself going towards the Port. Mr. Bitters didn't need him to be lookout right now, there was nothing to look for. He stood two feet away from the side, just like his father had ordered him and stuck the scope to his eye once more._

_He was met with the same scenery as before and he found himself wanting to scream at the sea. He opened his mouth to start trash talking an inanimate object, when something caught his eye. Something shimmering and green. His mouth stood agape as he tried to find it again. He looked to the right and than to the left, so quickly that whiplash was almost inevitable. For ten minutes he kept this up, and than he caught a glimpse of it again. He rushed over the side and pressed himself flush against it, breaking his father's rule. He looked down and saw something just beneath the billowing surface. It sort of looked like a fish. Carlos tilted his head to the side curiously. A fin flailed out of the waves and than crashed right back in. It was a green tail, but it had gorgeous hues of purple and blue and all the other colors of the rainbow. It was breathtaking and Carlos smiled like an idiot. The tail kept breaking free of the waves and falling back into them._

_"What kind of fishy are you", Carlos thought out loud, and out popped a head. Carlos fell backwards, dropping the telescope onto the deck with a loud thud. No. Way. Carlos collected himself off of the floor and ran back to the side. The head had disappeared. The human head. The head of a boy. Not a fish head. No a head. That stood gracefully on a pair of broad pale shoulders. Carlos was dumbfounded, he started blaming the hallucination on the sun and the heat it radiated onto him, but than the head popped back up. Carlos couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't feel. A stunning boy with raven hair and chocolate eyes looked up at Carlos. He smirked devilishly and waved up at the surprised boy. Carlos, mouth hanging open, mustered up the brain power and waved back at the boy in the water. Said boy smiled even wider before vanishing. Carlos was confused to say the least, he stood on the first bar of the Port so he could look farther over the edge. He was straining his neck, desperately searching for the fish boy._

_"Hello", he called out thinly, "are you out there?" No answer. Carlos cautiously looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was paying too much attention to him before stepping up onto the second bar._

_"I know you're there"' he jested, hoping to provoke a reaction._

_"Fine I guess…I'll just be leaving now", he called, "any minute now I will be gone…any minute now…okay I'm leaving.." Carlos stepped down for the bars and started slowly walking backwards._

_"Bye…cause I'm leaving now you know", Carlos yelled hopefully. With that, The boy flung out of the water and did a precise flip in the air. He had pale, flawless skin that shone like the purest seashell and was the proud owner of the gorgeous tail Carlos had seen previously. Carlos reclaimed his spot on the second bar and laughed cheerfully he snorted a little and covered his mouth with both hands as he waited for the brunet to make himself known again. A few seconds later he saw that face again, he noticed the cute dimples as the merboy grinned up at him ._

_"Encore!" Carlos shouted erupting into a fit of giggles, he clapped his hands together in sheer enchantment. The Merboy took a small bow and opened his mouth, but all Carlos could hear was the ocean and her symphony. Carlos leaned farther over the side_

_"What, I couldn't hear you", Carlos yelled. The boy once again opened his mouth but the gulls and the crashing of the waves and the wind blowing through hollow shells was all he could hear. He leaned a bit farther._

_"One more ti-" Carlos started, but he boat stuttered harshly and he found himself being thrown off the sea vessel. His scream tore through the air for a moment and than everything went black as his soft head connected with the cold metal of the boat and he was flung into the water. It cut like glass as he connected with his demise and he could feel it suffocating him, filling his lungs to the brim with liquid. He wanted to scream , to swim, to move but he found himself slowly falling deeper and deeper. His insides were burning, but he could do nothing._

_Carlos opened his eyes slightly as he accepted his fate, the sea was practically his home, he'd been a part of the sea since he was born. He couldn't count how many hazy Saturdays he's spent here, picking up fragile seas shells, swimming with his best friend James, watching the sunset turn the ocean black. It was his friend, it was his love , he could die here and it would be okay. His vision started to pinprick as a pale perfectly structured face came into his vision. It was the boy. The son of the ocean himself, has come to take Carlos away into the depths. Carlos held out his fingers and stroked them over the others lips, his cheeks, his nose. Anything he could before finally the lack of oxygen took him out of the realm of conciousness for the second time. He could hear voices in this limbo. He heard the sweetest melody ever sung, but he couldn't remember the words. He heard his father yelling, crying and it broke Carlos' heart. He heard footsteps running frantically in every direction and the last thing Carlos heard was the gulls keening overhead before he cracked an eye open to the sun._

_He was in his father's warm embrace in an instant, as he gasped for air. His father held him tightly weeping into his tiny, weak body. A constant chant of "never do that again hijo" and "I almost lost you" fell off his dad's lips and all Carlos could do was lay there and stare blankly at the sea that almost claimed him. In the distance he saw a tail splash out and at that moment Carlos realized: he'd been saved by that boy, and a soft, small smile formed on his salty, tired lips._


	2. Chapter 2

Hey to everyone, here's a quick chapter 2. We just needed a little snipet into the life of Carlos and James. Chapter 3 is where its all at! Enjoy. BTW: I obviously do not own BTR or anything regarding them. I'm just a crazy fangirl with a wild imagination.

_**Chapter 1**_

BEEP. BEEP. BEE- Good Morning California! It is going to be a beautiful day here on the coast, good way to start the week off it's Monday Morning with Big Boy and the Hammerhead here on KXVO! Let's get started wi- the blaring radio was cut short by a drowsy, heavy hand. Carlos Garcia groaned at the thought of waking up. For school none the less. His weekend had been cut too short, with James at his father's for the weekend and years of math homework to be done it had been one of the worst weekends in the history of Carlos' high school career. And now it was time for him to get up and face the day. Yeah, Fuck that. Carlos rolled over and snuggled closer into his pillow, sleep nagging at him to come back.

"Carlos Roberto Garcia, you get up right now!" The shrill voice of his mother sounded and he opened his eyes abruptly. Mistake. He was met with the early morning sun shining through his window and he was temporarily blinded.

"Ow. Shit", he breathed knocking the covers off his tan body.

"Carlos you have fifeteen seconds to get up or I'm coming up there", his mother commanded. He heard her counting from all the way downstairs and rolled his eyes at his mother's tactics. She got to the number ten and started going upstairs.

"11...12...13", she continued. Carlos jumped up in nothing but his boxers and ran to his door yanking it open just as his mother reached fifteen. Mrs. Garcia was beautiful. She was the same shade of caramel as Carlos and she had soft black hair and high cheek bones. Her smile was luminous but her frown…eh not so much. And that's what greeted a grinning Carlos.

"Carlos, baby, you need to get ready now. James will be here any moment and you know he hates waiting on you, I can only stall him for so long with my cooking", she scolded crossing her frail arms at her son.

"I know mami, I'm up, that's step one, I'm a lot farther than I was ten minutes ago", he said kissing his mother on the cheek. He was a bit of a mama's boy, but no one could blame him. She was as sweet as the desserts she constantly made, but when she got angry…let's just say you never wanted to be the one she was angry at. Carlos knew that all too well. His mom smirked at her son and shook her head.

"Aye, what am I going to do with you hijo, you never slept this late when your father was around", she said softly, a wave of nostalgia coming over her. Carlos' grin shrank a little.

"I'll get ready Ma, I'll be down in ten", he retorted sadly, pushing his door shut with a quiet thud. He let out a sigh, back pressed against the door, and slid down it. He ran his fingers through his hair and sat in silence, remembering the great man that was his father. He looked around his room, pictures adorned the wall of him and James, of the ocean, of his father. He struggled to his feet and went towards one. He pulled it off tenderly and held it tightly in his hand. This photograph was a treasure. It was from the day after Carlos had almost drowned. He sat in a white, clean bed an ice cream bar in his pudgy little hands. His father and mother draped around him, their smiles dazzling the whole wide world, because they're son was alive and well. In the picture a ten year old Carlos sat oblivious in the hospital, much more interested in his ice cream than his sobbing parents. Oh, the priorities. Carlos stopped remenicing and placed the photo back on his wall. He ran his hand across the expanse of it, until he came across another picture. This was a sketch. A poorly done one at that. It was made around the time that family photo at the hospital was taken. He was recovering, and while trying to explain to his parents just what made him go overboard, he drew a picture. It was a stick figure with a tail and dimples, smiling whimsically up at him. Carlos smiled at the old portrait, he'd drawn several more in the past year, each looking more and more like the boy who had saved his life. The boy who had plagued his dreams and his nightmares and pretty much every other thought he had.

When he had told his family he had been saved by a Merman they had decided to humor him and go along with it. He was only ten. As he grew though, it became more apparent and worrisome that this wasn't some deluded fantasy he had created to cope. This was real. He'd been to therapists , but he stuck to his guns. Even James wouldn't believe him. The day he stopped rambling on about his unknown savior, was the day his father got diagnosed with Cancer. Everything stopped that day, and from that point on Carlos' duty was to take care of his mom. He had to be strong enough for all three of them. When his father finally died after a long battle with Leukemia, he began drawing the boy again. In greater detail, he added features that he could feel were there. He would draw his tail, he'd take the broken pieces of his memory and draw everything he could. For months, he sat and drew. It was all he could do to keep himself from falling apart and becoming something unrecognizable. That was two years ago. He was a bit better now, of course the loss of his father still stung, but he had an incredible support system and he was almost back to the bubbling boy everyone knew and loved. He found himself tracing the merman's features completely entranced by his mystery, but was pulled out of his thoughts by the droll tones of the doorbell.

"Ah shit", Carlos cursed. James was here. Carlos rushed to find a suitable outfit for school. He rummaged through his closet desperately, as he heard his mother open the door for their guest.

"Hey James, Carlos is upstairs", his mother said sweetly.

"Thanks Mama G", James said smugly, "is he running late?" Crap. Carlos pulled on a pair of skinny jeans and zipped them up harshly. He found the closest sweatshirt to him, not bothering to put on a shirt, and yanked it over his head.

"When is he not", he could hear the sarcasm dripping from his mother's voice. Carlos pulled the door open and rushed downstairs in a frenzy.

"I am so not late", he said coming into the kitchen. There stood his mother and his best friend James Diamond. Pretty name right? Everything about James was beautiful. His hair, his skin, his eyes, he was made of sunbeams and hot sand. He leaked sex and everybody wanted it. He could have any girl he wanted if he snapped his fingers, and when he did, they all came running like hungry animals, cause lets face it, that's what horny teenage girls are. James was stellar and even Carlos knew that. He was his own star, his own gravitational pull and he wished to see his name in lights one day.

"Whoa, you're looking a bit tired", James sneered, wrinkling his noes at Carlos' attire. Carlos scoffed in mock defense.

"Well, we all don't take three hours to get ready every morning, some of us need a thing called sleep". James just shrugged and turned back to Mrs. Garcia.

"What can I say, I'm superhuman", he smirked and he heard Carlos snicker. They played off each other like that for awhile. They were brothers, they pretty much had the same hot blood running through their veins. They'd be together like this until the day they died. Carlos was sure of it.

"Okay boys out, you'll be late for school" , Mrs. Garcia ordered. Carlos hugged his mom tightly, gabbed his bag and headed out the door. James also hugged The Latina, picking her up and spinning her around for extra measure, before following his shorter best friend out the door. James' car was just like James. Pretty. A sky blue corvet, that shouldn't be in the hands of a teenage hormonal fool. They both hopped in and started towards their school. The warm August wind blew their hair back and Carlos found his eyes draping shut.

"Dude, why are you so tired, you were asleep til like twenty minutes ago", James inquired. Carlos shrugged and laid his head back

"I dreamt of him again, I woke up like five times cause I thought I was drowning"' Carlos said dreamily. James frowned. He'd seen Carlos' room, the numerous sketches, it was creepy. James wanted to say that for Carlos to be all into Merpeople was a bit 13 years ago and girly but he bit his tongue. They'd argued about this too many times.

"Sucks man", James said and Carlos just shrugged.

"How was your weekend with the old man", Carlos asked. James let out an audible groan before sighing deeply. James hated his father. He was a marine biologist, just like Carlos' had been, but he was twenty times richer and twenty times more douchey. Well according to James he was a douche.

"All bad, I hardly even saw the asshole, he stuck me in his house with the maids and left me to entertain myself I don't even know why he makes me go over there every other weekend, he doesn't even talk to me!". Carlos nodded. James' mom was the head of a huge makeup company she was hardly ever in town either. Always off on another business trip. James was usually left to his own devices and the nanny. So many this was James' dads way of being the "better parent".

"Next time he said that if I want to bring a friend I can though, you down?" James asked hopefully, "he has four wheelers". Carlos' reply came instantly

"Hell yeah". James smirked at that and turned back to the road. They were almost at the school and Carlos wanted nothing more than to go back home. It's not that he was bullied or hated or anything, he was actually quite popular, he just didn't like the whole high school scene. James pulled up to the bustling Palm Woods High and cruised to his parking spot. These kids were all fake tans and rumors. They both begrudgingly got out of the car and headed towards the entrance, making small talk about James' dad's mansion.

"There's the bros", a voice said haughtily. James and Carlos both turned to see their friend Dak with his blond counterpart on his arm.

"Sup Dak, Merecedes", Carlos said. Both of the people in front of them were sickeningly modelesque. Dak was on the hockey team with Carlos and James, they'd known each other for awhile now and Mercedes was his bitch of a girlfriend. James fucked her like three times. She was everything disgusting about Hollywood. She was the late nights and glitter and drugs that everybody seemed to be so attracted to. She was also the daughter of one of the most powerful men in town. You give Mercedes what she wants and when she wants it. Right now she wanted Carlos. She put her hand on his arm and winked playfully.

"Hey Carlos, have a fun weekend", she asked twirling her blond hair around her finger.

"Meh, it was alright" he replied, trying to not make eye contact with her crystalline cat eyes and find James. He found him talking to their other long time friends Lucy and Stephanie. Both girls were hot. They were that kind of Tomb Raider hot. The kind that could kick your ass and than kiss it to make everything better. Fiery. and Carlos adored them. He'd had an on/off thing with Stephanie, but right now they weren't very on, judging by the way she felt on James' bicep. Carlos excused himself from Dak and Mercedes and headed over to his nicer set of friends.

"Hey Carlos I tried to call you this weekend, where the fuck were you at", Lucy growled stalking up to the boy. Whoa this was his nicer set of friends.

"I had to catch up on some homework or my ass would have been grounded this weekend", he said trying to calm the beast. She held her chin up and accepted his answer.

"Whatever, James, you still throwin' that beach party this weekend", she asked pulling the brunet out of his conversation with Stephanie. He sent her a dazzling grin.

"You bet I am", he high fived Carlos and with that the bell rang, signaling them to go to class. Classes were boring. Simply because Carlos didn't like them. Neither did James. They spent a majority of the class time texting each other about the party Friday night on James' private beach. Plus neither boy really acceled when it came to academics. They were in and out of tutoring programs almost constantly. When they weren't in class they socialized with friends in the hallways. When it came time for lunch, Carlos couldn't have been any happier. He slid through the lunch line, grabbing anything he could and sat at his usual table of friends. James, Stephanie, Lucy, Dak, Mercedes, Jett, and Guitar Dude joined him there. They all made small talk as they saw fit. Carlos withdrew from the conversations and began drawing lazily, he just started with lines and marks and sooner than later it was a face, a face he recognized all too well. With cute dimples and wispy hair an-

"The fuck you drawin 'Litos", Jett snatched the paper away from the Latino,

"Jett give it back", Carlos ordered darkly. Jett started laughing crumpled up the paper and threw it back at him.

"Who is that, your butt buddy", Jett laughed. At this point everybody at the table tuned in, James saw the dark look in Carlos' eye and the tight set of his jaw. He was about to stand up when Carlos connected his fist to Jett's pretty little face. Jett fell back astounded and clutched at his burning jar.

"Fuck you", Carlos spat. A teacher came rushing over, but Carlos just started heading for the principals office. James followed.

"Dude, you shouldn't have done that, he's just Jett he sucks", James said running after him, "we were suppose to go surfing tonight, you think that's gonna happen once your mom finds out?" Carlos shrugged indifferently. James stopped walking, realizing it was futile to try and talk to him.

"Just text me later bro", James called and headed back to the cafeteria. He'd just go surfing by himself tonight. Like Carlos, his main mistress was the ocean, and he could ride that sweet piece of ocean mass all night long. James went back into the cafeteria and to the lunch table. Jett was whining about how he was just playing and Lucy had unfolded that paper and started scrutanizing it. She handed the piece of paper to James and he sighed. This was a face he knew all too well.

As Carlos got closer to the main office, his stomach started swimming with regret. He shouldn't have gotten so fired up over a bad sketch. It's just... Jett is such an asshole. He took a deep breath and pushed the glass door open. The air was stale. It smelled like old people and winter fresh and at that moment he decided he'd never let Jett get him that pissed off again. He didn't like it in here. He shivered slightly and went towards the secretary's desk. She was a young black woman who didn't belong in this drafty building. She looked up at him through thick horned rim glasses with disapproval.

"Can I help you", she asked monotonously. She's been doing this for awhile.

"Um, Yeah I got sent down here for fighting I just-" , she cut him off with a perfectly manicured finger in his face.

"Don't care, Mr. Roque will be with you shortly, sit down next to the ginger delinquent", she said sharply. Carlos just nodded and did as told. The so called "ginger delinquent" looked mildly offended before he turned and looked out the window. Eight minutes passed painfully slow, and he found himself getting figety. He tapped his fingers lightly on his jeans and bobbed his head. Thirteen minutes rolled around and he found himself humming. The secretary looked up at him, but when she caught his eye she quickly looked back down at her paperwork. 'that's awkward' he thought. Seventeen minutes and the big boss himself steps out. Gustavo Roque is the top dog of this school and he makes sure everyone knows that they're his bitches. Gustavo turned to Carlos, his double chin a second slower than the rest of his face.

"Garcia, in my office NOW", he screamed, face turning all shades of red. Carlos scampered in, he was pretty sure the other kid was before him but he wasn't going to argue. Before Gustavo went in after him, The secretary whispered something into his ear that made him nod excitedly. He slammed the door shut behind him. Carlos sat down as the large man closed in on him.

"So you punched a kid...in my domain, Mr. Garcia are you aware that fighting in this school is prohibted?" Gustavo walked around and sat on the other side of his oak desk. He put his meaty hands on it and folded them neatly. He was speaking too calmly. To precisely. Carlos was scared. He just nodded.

"THAN WHY DID YOU DO IT", he yelled. There it is. By this point Carlos was shaking.

"Mr. Roque, it wasn't a fight we were just playing around an-and it looked li-like I punched him but well I did punch him b-but I didn't mean to punch him that hard", Carlos stammered out. Gustavo studied him.

"Alright Mr. Garcia, you have two choices here, choice A you get suspended for fighting on my turf, Gustavo said," or choice B you get ONE after school detention and you participate in a little project I'm working on". Carlos weighed the choices carefully. Sure, if he got suspended he'd be grounded for forever, but choice B meant spending time with the fat man behind the desk. Tricky.

"What's the project", Carlos asked. Gustavo just smirked, "Choice B was a good choice kid, now get the hell out of my office". Carlos hadn't even really picked but he took this as his cue to leave.

"Fuck my life", Carlos groaned walking back out into the crowded hallways.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello once again!, alright so be prepared because from this chapter onward, we are on a roller coaster! this one's a bit short compared to the other two, but something don't need to be five years long. This chapter just needed to happen. Next one will be uber long, promise.

**Chapter**_** 2**_

After lunch, which he spent insulting Jett, hitting on Lucy, dodging Mercedes' hungry looks, and eating very little, James trudged through the hallways looking for his friend. He had the rough sketch in his possession, laying neatly folded in his back pack. The after lunch crowd was a rowdy one, the girls seemed to gain a confidence boost after a hearty meal, and they flocked to James Diamond like flies on a lantern. He forced a smile and tried his best to remain polite, but it was getting hard. He needed to find Carlos.

"Ladies if you could just excuse me for a second, I have to find my friend". They all batted their eyelashes and puckered their wet, full lips. This had no affect as James pushed his way out of the ambush. He sprint down the other hallway finding he shorter half messing around with his locker begrudgingly. From the look on his face things didn't go well. He sauntered up casually, leaning on the locker next to his friend's.

"How'd it go?"

Carlos stuck his lip out in a deep, childish pout.

"Bad."

"Suspension bad?"

"After school detention PLUS I have to aid Gustavo with this project working on." James visibly winced

"Yikes…kiddy porn?"

"Probably."

"So if your mom calls me you're where?"

" I have to stay here and get tutoring for math."

"Cool." James said.

"Cool." Carlos answered. He rubbed his tired eyes and slammed his locker shut.

"So you still going surfing", Carlos asked.

"You know I am bro, the waves are suppose to be killer, and I didn't punch Jett in the face", James joked. Carlos glared icily at the brunet.

"He's a dick and you know it, the dude had it coming", Carlos responded and James had to agree. He is, no one actually liked Jett. He was a snobby, stupid, mole rat.

"He did", James agreed as he gripped the fragile piece of paper from his back pack. He handed the sketch back to Carlos without a word, and he accepted it.

"Thanks for being such a good friend", Carlos murmured, clutching the artwork to his chest. James enveloped him in his strong arms and rested his chin atop of his dark locks.

"That's what I'm here for", he said softly. They stayed like this for several moments before the minute bell rang. They both scurried to their science class, barely making it to their seats in time. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. Jett walked around with an ice pack to his jaw, and everyone sniggered when he strutted by. The day ended with the 3 o'clock bell and all the students evacuated the institution as fast as they could. Well everybody but Carlos and a few club members. James waved at the distraught Latino before he head out to his glimmering sports car. Oh days like this is what James Diamond lived for. Lazy afternoons after a stressful heart attack inducing eight hours. Other students passed James by and waved, James returned the greetings and got into his car.

Being one of the most beloved students was hard. James found himself surrounded by people he didn't know all the time, but they sure knew him. His name, his birthday, his favorite food, his favorite color. It was an invasion of privacy and James didn't feed off it like everyone seemed to think he did. He liked attention sure, he deserved attention, but he wasn't desperate for it, and sometimes the things he did he'd rather keep between himself, that girl, and God. The tan god put his keys into the ignition and sped away from the school as fast as his car could, which by the way, was over 140 miles per hour. He turned the radio on and started singing along softly, his lovely voice getting lost in the traffic.

_The more I think_

_The less I feel_

_When I'm able to walk_

_I'm the king of my World_

_And I let it rain_

_On my skin_

_I won't let myself fall, I won't let myself fall_

James thought he had a pretty good voice and everybody who got the chance to hear him concurred. They said the usual things. "James your voice is beautiful", "James you have quite the vocals", "James you're going to be famous one day". The last one struck a cord. That's all he's ever wanted, all he's ever yearned for.

The wind hit his face and blew his perfectly groomed hair back. He let go of everything as he made his way to his beach. The hatred he felt towards his dad, in the wind. His frustration with the school year thus far, forget about it. The worry that gnawed at him every time Carlos acted out, so long. He let the sun melt it all away as the familiar scent of salt and tranquility reached him. He was so close. The street was empty now, he was out of heavy traffic and almost at his mother's private beach. When he arrived he quickly stepped out of his car and set out for the water. Everything was gorgeous, and James was astonished at how the sun made the ocean and the sand and the trees look like magic. Like he was Peter Pan in his own little Never Land.

His surfboard laid carelessly on the small wooden shack he changed in, it was practically singing his name. James ran toward it while shedding his clothes in the process. He lifted his shirt off his perfectly sculpted body and swung off his tennis shoes. All that was left was his pants and he quickly discarded those after he entered his shack. He stepped into his swimsuit quickly and walked out of the tiny room. For a second, he just stared, awed by the sea and everything that she had to offer him. He snapped out of his daze and grabbed his surfboard and started for the shore. He'd been waiting so long for this and as soon as his toes met the lukewarm water he knew the wait had been worth it. He threw his surfboard down and fell onto it as he made his way farther out.

The radio had been right this morning, these waves were killer and he was so going to own them. He gracefully took every wave in stride, like he'd been doing this his whole life. Truth be told he has. He respected every wave that he rode more than any girl that's rode him. That's love. He's spent hours on his beach doing just what he's doing now, and James thinks to himself 'this is all I could ever need'. James grinned like a madman as a particularly big one approached. He was going to meet this beast halfway. He started swimming hard directly at it, he jumped up with confidence and prepared to ride it out.

He started out steady, good, he was gaining the momentum needed to make it out of this wave. He looked up at the monster creating that was creating this huge shadow over him and opened his mouth to curse. He didn't get the chance. The wave crashed down on him. Hard. James found himself being thrown around underneath the oceans surface as he tried to come up for air. He gasped and got a mouthful of salt water. He coughed and got a mouthful of saltwater. He struggled against the current but he was fighting a losing battle. He could feel himself getting weak , but he wouldn't stop swimming. He tried desperately with all his might to reach the top, but it was proving to be one heck of a challenge. Panic mode. James swished right and left flailing about, he couldn't die, not now. Than everything stopped. James stopped struggling and his eyes opened wide as he faced a man. A man with fierce green eyes that looked back at him in utter awe. The man was beautiful, a slender face with a set of dark eyebrows and a strong jaw line. His lips shone pink like the sweetest pearl and sandy blond hair sprouted from his head, flowing like some sort of halo. James thought he must be in Heaven. This man was an angel. Cautiously the man grabbed at James' sides, just above his hips. James was losing oxygen fast and the man could see that. He drug James' down by the hips and than thrusted him upward with all he had, shooting James up to break the surface. As he did, he sputtered, forcing air into his lungs as best he could. His surfboard was a few inches away just floating without a care. James clung to it for dear life as he slowly kicked his way back to the sandy shore. The entire journey he felt his sides stinging, a constant throb that made James stop countless times. As soon as he got to shallow water he just laid. Tired and strained and happy to be alive. The sun was setting now, and he looked at this sun burning in the west and he found himself smiling. He muttered nonsense to himself as he slowly pulled his way onto the sand. His side throbbed once more and he finally cared to look down.

James was horrified. His mouth hung open and he let out a small whimper. On the sides of his abdomen, sat two wounds, blood slowly leaking from them. They glared at him in the shape of two handprints.

"No. Fucking. Way".


	4. Chapter 4

HELLO EVERYONE, so sorry for the lateness and what not. I don't own any of the characters or anything! Um reviews make me feel special so that'd be nice too :) I hope you enjoy the chapter it's the longest one I've written and the next chapter is going to be crazzzy.

This was the last place Carlos wanted to be spending his afternoon. In a drafty room that smelt of hair grease and hormonal teen angst. He sauntered in room 205, eyes downcast and shoulders heavy. He looked up only for a moment to make himself aware of his surroundings, at the desk sat Mr. Johnson, a red faced, balding little man who had a bad attitude and even worse breath. He saw the usual delinquents chattering amongst themselves in hushed tones, Guitar Dude was among them and he waved at Carlos excitedly, gesturing for him to join them. Carlos smirked and headed over taking the seat right in front of Guitar Dude, he turned around to join in the conversation, but was cut off by Mr. Johnson's harsh cough of command.

"Good afternoon future jailbirds, most of you already know me and my rules, but for those newbies I'm spotting around the room, let me make a few things very clear", he stood up and started to pace in front of the gleaming oak desk.

"One, we need to break up this little group we have here, spread yourselves out, there should be NO talking understood?" The teens groaned but listened to the small man as they scattered to different corners of the room. Carlos sat in the very back corner at a desk covered in gum and graffiti and laid his head down.

"That leads me to point number two, do not talk to your peers, this is detention, not an after school club, you people are being punished for doing bad things and disrupting the sanctity of these fine halls", he said smugly. The room filled with a chorus of soft snickers and the occasional 'yeah fuckin' right'. Mr. Johnson glared daggers at everybody in the room finally landing his beady eyes on Carlos.

"Ah Mr. Garcia, you are a perfect example of rule number Trois, sit up in your desk, straight and proper. You are all in here for a reason, you don't get to sleep, this isn't suppose to be fun and I intend to make sure you all never end up in here again, So Mr. Garcia, put your head up now or you'll be getting a detention for tomorrow", he finished. Carlos scoffed but obeyed never the less, he wasn't trying to get another one.

"Now that we all understand each other, I suggest maybe you all do a little homework, I know for a fact all of your grades could use a little push", with that, Mr. Johnson sat down at the desk and started grading papers. Carlos let out a sigh of discontent as he filed through his back pack looking for his math homework.

"Pssssssssst dude, Carlitos", Guitar Dude whispered, successfully getting the attention of Carlos, "that was a sweet punch you served Jett today, the douche bag needed a good ass whooping." Carlos smirked at that and gave Guitar Dude an air high five.

"Thanks bro, it was worth it", he bragged.

"AHEM", Mr. Johnson cleared his throat and aimed a sharp glare at the conversing boys. Carlos quickly dropped his head and started scribbling on his math work. It was his worst subject, he couldn't remember a time where math came easy to him and he constantly struggled o maintain a D average. James was no help due to the fact that, well, James is an idiot. It was like hieroglyphics, so ancient and useless and difficult. Carlos' brow furrowed and he stuck out his tongue in deep concentration as he attempted to understand a particularly hard equation. What is a variable anyway? Why are letters even in a number zone? UGH. He threw his pencil down in a state of utter defeat. He looked up at the clock and almost threw up at the fact only twenty minutes had passed. He ran his tan fingers through his messy locks in an attempt to calm himself down. Tick. This was frustrating. Tock. Time wasn't moving fast enough for his liking. Tick. School is so hard. Tock. 'Everyone hates Jett, I should've gotten a medal.' he thought bitterly. Tick. Guitar dude started doodling on the desk. Tock. Carlos started too. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The metronome of the clock kept steady and Carlos couldn't believe that the first hour wasn't even up. How did people stand this? Carlos had only this one detention and he wanted to die, he looked around and these were the students that had been here ten, twelve, maybe even twenty times! He shook his head in disapproval. The silence was broken by the slamming of the door. Mr. Roque strutted in, in all his fat, sassy glory. He kept his chin up and scanned the room.

"Principal Roque, can I help you with something", Mr. Johnson asked sheepishly. Gustavo turned to him sharply, as if he'd just sworn at him.

"Did I ask for your help Herbert, did I come over to you, ring your little bell, and ask for assistance", Gustavo mocked. Some students giggled at the mentioning of the teacher's first name. Herbert turned red and shook his head.

"THAN NO I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP", Gustavo yelled, frightening Herbert into a whimpering mess. Gustavo turned his attention back to the bored teenagers. When his gaze fell on Carlos, he grinned and pointed a sausage finger in his direction.

"Garcia, up, we have business to attend to", Gustavo ordered. Carlos didn't need to be told twice. He scampered up and rushed to put all of his things back in his bag with some sort of rhyme and reason. He heard the other kids clicking their tongues and whining about his early dismissal, but he paid no attention to them. Gustavo started out the door and Carlos followed, giving a small wave in Guitar Dude's direction. He trudged after Gustavo's hurried steps. For a large man, he sure could move fast. He led them right outside the brick building into the warm, August sun and for a moment, Carlos just stood there and let it sink into his skin, right into his veins. The school courtyard was so tranquil when 500 kids didn't litter it. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a car pulling up to the curb. Gustavo got in and looked to Carlos to do the same. He took a deep breath and joined him in the black, very expensive looking vehicle. Behind the wheel was Kelly, the stoic secretary, looking a little less hardened than she had during the school day. He made a mental note that Kelly was a very pretty young woman. The car started drifting away from his school, and Carlos started getting this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to ask where they were going, how Gustavo could afford a car like this on a principals salary, why Kelly was still here after work hours, but Carlos decided to keep his mouth shut in a thin, pressed line.

"At this point Carlos, you may be a bit terrified, well I don't blame you, but rest assured that you're going to be pretty enthused by this little project we got goin'", Kelly said sweetly meeting his eyes in the mirror. That didn't make him feel better at all. He swallowed the lump in his throat and gave a short nod. They drove in silence for the rest of the fifteen minute trip into the city. Their ending destination was a metallic skyscraper, with mirror like windows and a beautiful infrastructure. Kelly parked in a reserved spot, turned off the car and proceeded to get out. She was followed my Gustavo, and he was followed by Carlos as the trio made their way into the massive building. Carlos was astounded and confused, but the fear in his belly was slowly desipitating as he entered the air conditioned lobby. Busy people rushed past, everybody looking important. Phones were in people's ears, in their hands, the chattering of a thousand workers filled the Latino boy's ears. Next to the chrome front desk was a humongous portrait of the billionaire Arthur Griffin, looking down upon them all, a menacing glint in his eyes. Carlos felt a chill run down his spine. They made their way through the lobby quickly and boarded the elevator. The ride up was uncomfortable for the bubbling youth with the cheap, music playing and Gustavo's heavy breathing. The 'ding' signaled their voyage's end and he grabbed his backpack straps tightly as they went down the long hallway. They finally came to a solid door and Gustavo slipped his keys in the lock, he pushed the door open and Carlos' took in a deep breath. He looked around at the recording studio in absolute awe. Everything was so high tech and beautiful and oh my goodness is that a mini fridge? Carlos couldn't comprehend any thing right now. He walked into the space, as if he were a zombie and plopped down on a nearby leather couch.

"Welcome to Roque Records Carlos Garcia, first rule you are my LAPDOG you do what I tell you, when I tell you to, how I tell you to, comphrende? SECOND RULE do NOT touch any of my things unless I give you permission, final rule you will never disclose any of this to ANYONE, this is my little side business, me and Kelly here have been making magic happen since before you were born, with things getting a little busy around here we figured we could use a little extra help, with a little bit of talent. Your duties will include coffee runs, fax and copy runs, testing out new equipment, scouting for 'the fire' and keeping me happy. All of this in exchange for me not suspending your ass like I should have. You shall be here every Monday and Wednesday .Kelly tells me you have a decent voice, I expect to hear it later on. Right now the big dog is starving and he craves the dinner, there's a little shop two blocks from here called Le Café pour les Grand take this twenty dollars and go fetch me something good, surprise me I practically eat everything on the menu", Gustavo concluded his rant and turned his back to the overwhelmed teenager.

"YOU'RE DISMISSED", he screamed when Carlos didn't move. He ran off of the couch and right out of the studio with his tail between his legs. His mind still wasn't completely computing. SO, what he's collected thus far is: Mr. Roque, his infamous principal, is also an infamous producer with a pretty henchman by his side. They work for Griffin, Mercedes' father and one of the most powerful in the known world, and he's just signed his soul away to keep himself out of trouble with his mom. Was it worth it? No. No it wasn't, he decided. But now he's stuck, and with a roast beef sandwich, some potato soup, and the weight of the world on his shoulders he left the café and went back to the headquarters, wishing the entire way that he could've just gone surfing with his brunet counterpart. When he arrived back at the studio, Kelly was typing away at the computer, engrossed in her work, and Gustavo sat with headphones on twiddling with the sound board bobbing his head and stoking his beard in contemplation. Carlos crept in as quietly as he could and sat the food down on the glass table in the middle of the room. As soon as Gustavo got a whiff of his dinner, he removed his headphones and started in.

"DOG go shred these papers for me, the shredders in my office", Gustavo demanded as he sat to eat his meal. Carlos took the papers and scurried off to do what he was told. When he returned, Gustavo was inhaling his food, the smell tickled the Latino's nostrils. Watching Gustavo eat his food made Carlos remember his own hunger and he looked at his cell phone. 5:39, two missed calls from his mom, a text from Stephanie, and one text from The blonde Jennifer asking about James' party Friday. Okay, he should probably head home. Carlos hadn't said more than two words this whole time and he was having trouble asking for a lift home. He could walk home from school, but this place is like thirty minutes driving distance away. He cleared his throat and turned to Kelly, she seemed like the lesser of two evils.

"Hey um.. Kelly it's sorta late and I need to be back before my Mami leaves for work and uh…I kinda live a bit out there could I-I maybe, get a ride possibly", Carlos stuttered out. Gustavo looked up from his sandwich and Kelly looked up from whatever she was doing on this computer. She beamed up at him and gave him a smile that spoke for itself.

"Sure, Carlos. Gustavo I'm taking the pup home, say your goodbyes", Kelly said as she stood up and started for the door. Gustavo mumbled something out that kinda sounded like a goodbye but his mouth was full of half chewed food so he gestured with his hand and they clicked the door shut behind them. When it was just him and Kelly, Carlos exhaled a breath it felt like he'd been holding for three years. Kelly chuckled and turned to Carlos. Her features were so much softer now and she looked at the boy as if he was her family.

"He's a hassle I know, but there is no reason for you to be so up tight. Once you know him you figure out he's all bark no bite..well sometimes a little bite but not a bad one, and I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun Carlos, it's not everyday Gustavo lets a student in on this", she said resting her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure it will be.. it's just all…whoa like. I mean Gustavo's been doing this for years, why is he a principal at a shitty high school", he asked as they neared the car. Kelly unlocked the doors and gestured for Carlos to sit up front with her.

"Well That was Griffin's doing as well, you're right, Gustavo has been at it for years, he's actually extremely successful and he was known for what he does once upon a time, but as soon as Mercedes entered high school, Griffin wanted somebody who would bend to the whims of his Princess as much as he does. Seeing as Gustavo is one of Griffin's favorite pets, he bought the school and put him in charge. It's kind of a method of torture, you see the kids in that school. I'm just along for the ride I suppose", she answered sarcasm dripping from her tone.

"That all makes sense, but why me, anybody would work to be an errand boy". Kelly pulled out of the lot and started out of the city, she put a perfectly manicured finger to her lips before you gave her answer.

"When the opportunity arises, in this business, you pounce on it. You've never had any other bad reports, you'll work for free cause, well you know, Gustavo blackmailed you, and I heard you hummin' in there, you were good! It just seemed really convenient.". Carlos laughed a little at that.

"Okay, Kelly".

"What? You wanted the truth! Now where do you live my little tamales?" He laughed at the nick name and stuttered out some directions for her. When they arrived at his house, all the lights were off, signaling his mother had already left for work. The sun was still shining but it was a searing orange hue and it dyed the sky an array of colors. Carlos muttered a 'see you tomorrow and thank you' and got out of the dark car. The studio was better than detention, but he was happy to be home. He took out his key and unlocked the front door, almost immediately throwing his backpack down. He almost called out a hello to his mom, but stopped when he realized she'd left. He entered the kitchen and went over to raid his fridge of any possibility of sustenance. On it, was a note from his mother advising him of what to eat, and to call her when he got home. She drew a small heart and a smiley face at the end and it made Carlos, just a little bit teary eyed. He loved his mother so much, she was everything he ever needed. He decided to eat some left over lasagna and popped it in the microwave before he kicked off his shoes and stretched out on his sofa. He took his phone out, texting out quick replies and calling his mom.

"Carlos Roberto Garcia, where have you been" she sounded concerned.

"Mami, calm down I was at math tutoring, you know I'm actually trying to raise my grade", he smiled when he heard his mom snort.

"I know hijo, just call me and tell me where you are next time kay? I couldn't even get a hold of James to see where you were".

"I'm sorry Ma, it won't happen again".

"Okay Carlos, I gotta go have a good night te amo", she said sweetly.

"Te amo", he responded and ended the call. He turned on the TV and stared blankly at the screen, just trying to absorb everything that happened today. The shrill ringing of the microwave sounded and he ran to get his dinner. Just as he was putting his feet up and eating his dinner, the doorbell rang.

"Uggy", Carlos rolled his eyes, but didn't move. 'maybe they'll go away if I'm quiet enough'. It rang again. And again. And again. More frantically each time, until there was no pause in between them it was just constantly ringing. Carlos kicked the table, which he instantly regretted and went to the door.

"God Damn I'm fuckin coming", he screeched over the doorbell. He swung the door open prepared to deliver a big ol' can of whoop ass, but he stopped when he was met with a distraught James, dripping wet and dazed.

"Bro…what happened, what's wrong", Carlos asked his words laced with worry. James just walked in the house, holding a white towel to his side. Carlos examined the boy and noticed the bloody towel.

"Holy shit James what happened, you're scaring me", he rushed over to the boy and made him take a seat on the couch.

"I drowned, almost, but hands, water filled my lungs, but he saved me, bleeding though, angels, I don't even know right now, I can't-", James babbled incoherently and Carlos was having a rough time understanding anything.

"James, you gotta speak English for me or Spanish, which ever you prefer, but words would help a little bit", Carlos pleaded. James met his gaze, honey colored eyes met with dark chocolate ones and Carlos could see James finally starting to organize his thoughts.

"I was surfing, and this huge, knarly wave just hit me, and I couldn't get to the surface, I was dying 'Litos I was so scared and everything was just burning, and than out of fuckin nowhere this man comes up to me, and Carlos you should've seen him, he was…I can't explain it, but he helped me break the surface. I swam to shore and for awhile I just laid there and than I look down and see…these", James removed the towel from his sides and all the color drained from Carlos' face. Two hand prints red and shiny blared up at him from James' sides. They'd been etched into his skin so perfectly.

"Wait here James", Carlos said and ran upstairs. James leaned back on his couch , assuming the boy would come down with some ointment but instead he came down with his sketchbook in hand.

"I need to remember these, this is insanity", Carlos breathed as he started sketching out the handprints adorning James' body. James scoffed in offense.

"Carlos I need a band aid, or two, maybe even three, can you please not do this right now", James asked. Carlos bit his lip obviously ashamed.

"James you need a whole lot more than a band aid that's a grown man's hands, give me five minutes okay? It's just a rough sketch". James nodded and rolled his head back on the sofa cushions. Like promised, Carlos stopped after five minutes and ran to go get his friend some ointment and some ace wrap. He applied the ointment as gently as he could, but that didn't stop James' from wincing every so often. He wrapped his torso tightly and secured the wrap, then he said something that James knew he eventually would.

"You were saved by a merman James! Did he have dark hair, dark eyes, and a pale complexion, did he sing to you", he asked. James rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Carlos, stop, it was not a merman, okay, I'm thinking that maybe it didn't even happen, like I was hallucinating or some shit".

"How do you explain those hand prints James?", he retorted.

"I don't know maybe he was a regular dude wearing gloves or something! Since when do mermaids leave cuts anyway?" Carlos was stumped with that one.

"Plus he was blond, with green eyes and a pale complexion and I'm pretty sure he was a figment of my imagination".

"James this is the only explan-", "Carlos, no it's not! I can think of fifty other explanations that still make more sense than your mermaid theory okay? I've entertained this little idea of yours enough over the years, I've put up with your shit, I've put up with everybody else's shit and I'm done, you need to grow the fuck up and figure out that the belief in merthings is a belief for five to eight year old girls", James exclaimed. Carlos was in shock. He'd never been yelled at like that before, and for it to come from his best friend, ouch. His eyes started to fill with tears and he ran up to his room, hurt by what he saw as a betrayal. For ten minutes he sat there and stared at the pictures of the merman he'd drawn over the years.

"I know you're real, I know it", he said softly to the pieces of paper. He heard a knock on his door and James came in with his eyes downcast. He ran his fingers through his hair and let in a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry 'Litos, I'm just freaking out a little bit okay? I mean I just almost died and it'd be easier if we didn't complicate things with theories and…I'm just sorry", he said walking towards Carlos. He wrapped his arms around his shorter friend and kissed his forehead.

"Don't be mad at me", he whispered. Carlos returned the hug. That was a sign that all was forgiven. After his tears had dried, he untangled himself from James, and sat cross-legged on his bed.

How was detention and Gustavo", he asked timidly.

"Detention was awful, but, well I'm not suppose to tell anyone but you're my best friend so I'm going to trust you to keep your mouth shut, Gustavo is like this record producer, he has this big ol' studio and everything and he works for Griffin and I'm now his errand boy, he's really scary but I think I can handle this". James looked impressed.

"Whoa, so he makes people famous", James inquired.

"Yeah", Carlos said happily, "I bet if I told him about you, you'd make it to the big time in no time, they even wanted to hear me sing". James' face lit up.

"If you did that for me I'd love you forever", he smirked.

"Yeah, yeah if you maybe start kissing my ass a little more I might say a word or two about your brilliance.

" Whatever 'Litos I don't know if fame is worth my dignity, can I sleep over here? I don't want to be alone tonight after everything", James mumbled the last part.

"Sure".

The rest of the week flew by without a hitch. Carlos visited the studio on Wednesday, as promised. This time he got to watch somebody being recorded, Gustavo practically popped a blood vessel with this guy. He was off key, pitchy, and way to self involved. James would blow this guy out of the water. Jett walked around school, sporting a large bruise, he still sat at the same table with Carlos, but he avoided eye contact at all cost. The hype about James' huge beach party was buzzing through out the high school, and although James had stayed far away from the ocean since the incident, he couldn't have been more excited when his alarm clock rang Friday morning. Hot girls. Hot naked girls. The sea. The fire. The s' mores. The drinks. The sex. Yeah, it was going to be a good night for the Party Kings Of L.A.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey folks! sorry it has been way toooo long of a wait. I hope you are all still with me! this chapter is a little bit shorter than the rest but I hope you love it. I promise after this one we have another more carlos- centric chapter and then we get to the moment you've all been waiting for and there's a beautiful meeting between two of our characters that will end...very interesting like. The next two chapters should be up in like the next few days. :) but for now please review! they make me want to keep this story going. Thanks guys!

This party was insane. The ocean was tainted black, as it reflected the stars of the crystal clear night sky. The alcohol was finding its way through the systems of over a hundred intoxicated teens, and the music was on the lips and within the veins of all the party go-ers as they celebrated their youth in the most primal ways imaginable. James felt like a king as he stood on a sandy rock, looking over his friends and classmates.

"Woo-hoo!" Mercedes whooped and cheered as Jett was thrown into the calm cerulean waters by Guitar Dude and Dak. The alcohol was obviously in control of her system because after taunting Jett a few more times, (who was now having a contest with Dak to see who could drink the most out of a coconut bra that had been discarded by some female only minutes ago), she proceeded to whip off her bikini top. Any guy who hadn't already passed out face first in the sand started cat calling and cheering, telling her to take it all off. Which wouldn't have been much considering she bought the skimpiest bikini anyone there had ever seen.

Carlos shook his head slightly, not able to understand girls like Mercedes who just bared it all to any and every guy who walked past her. Especially when she was drunk. And right now she was so far past drunk it wasn't even funny. Sadly though, the list of guys she seemed to want to show herself off to included the young Latino who just wanted to be left alone for the time being.

"Carrrlloosss!" her high pitched whine of a voice rang through his ears. He mentally sighed and swiveled around in his chair that sat at the little Coconut Cabana Bar on the beach.

"Yes Mercedes? What do you want?" Carlos tried to keep his tone was monotonous, he didn't want to be rude but he hoped she would get the hint to leave him alone.

"Youu are so CAUUTE!" Mercedes started giggling like crazy, yeah, she didn't get hints when she was sober, Carlos just slumped over and grunted. She started running her hand up his thigh flirtatiously, slipping closer and closer to Carlos's crotch . Before she actually rubbed against him, he caught her hand and pulled it away making her cherry red lips turn down into a pout.

"Awww Carlitos! Don't you want me? Every. Single. Part of me?" she moved in closer to whisper seductively in his ear.

Carlos rolled his eyes and mentally groaned in frustration. "No Mercedes, I don't. But it looks like that guy over by the limbo stick does. Why don't you go seduce him into going to bed with you?"

Mercedes face fell in disappointment at Carlos's clear rejection of her. But as she turned to look at the man he was pointing to, her eyes brightened considerably and her face twisted into an almost animalistic grin. The look in her eyes was enough to tell Carlos that limbo boy was in for a wild night.

Mercedes finally sauntered away leaving Carlos alone, much to his enjoyment, until 5 seconds later when James came and sat next to him.

"Dude! Doesn't this party ROCK?!" James practically screamed in his ear, trying to be heard over the booming bass of the music. He took a shot of vodka and threw his arm around Carlos's shoulders with a huge grin on his face. Obviously he was pretty damn proud of the party and his reigning status as the Party King.

"Yeah dude it's pretty cool." Carlos mumbled so quietly James had to lean in closer just to hear him.

"Pretty cool?" James said, sounding almost appalled. "This party is AWESOME!" he emphasized by once again yelling in Carlos's eardrum. Carlos just shrugged and took another shot. It was only his second though, and he knew he'd have to be careful since he was driving back to James's house. James finally seemed to notice his best friend's glum mood and he put his shot glass down on the counter.

"What's wrong man? Are you ok?" James voice finally dropped to a quieter volume as a slow Taylor Swift song started playing from the speakers.

"Yeah I'm fine James, I'm just….I mean I….I've just been thinking about that boy you saw in the water the other day!" Carlos finally spit the words out and looked at James nervously, waiting for him to get angry and yell at him again. But the yelling never came and James just sighed softly.

"Look Carlitos, I don't even completely know for sure that that was what I saw, I was _drowning_ for goodness sake. And everything was kind of blurry with the salt and the fish poop and all that."

"But you practically _live _in the water dude! You can see perfectly fine underwater. And what about those hand prints on your sides? Are you gonna tell me those just magically appeared too?" Carlos shot back stubbornly.

"No, they didn't "magically" appear," James conceded with a sigh. James fiddled with the tank top he had to wear to conceal his wounds. He had forgotten about them until a moment ago. "But someone else could have simply just pulled me to shore and made sure I was alive and left just as easily."

Carlos gave a small huff of annoyance. He knew what James had really seen. He remembered the chocolate eyed brunette boy that had saved him so many years ago as clear as the morning sky. And James obviously had a good mental picture of this boy that had saved him a few days ago as well. However, Carlos decided to not pursue the subject any farther tonight. He was tired, it had been a long day for him and he just honestly wanted to go back to James's house and sleep for the next 24 hours.

"Hey buddy, can we just forget about this for awhile, the party is off the fuckin' chain dude, AND I might've seen Jennifer looking for you earlier in her teeny, wheeny, polka dot bikini", James wiggled his eyebrows and gave Carlos a sharp jab in the side. At that Carlos immediately perked up, despite his somber mood, no one could pass up a Jennifer. The three beauty queens ran the whole school, not to mention they've been in every single wet dream Carlos has had since he was like thirteen. Carlos gave James a sharp glare.

"You're not fucking with me bro?"

"Nah man, and it was definitely the blonde". Carlos pulled another shot of the table and downed it quickly before heading off to find his blonde. James laughed gleefully, sure, maybe Jennifer had been looking for Dak, but she still had on that bikini, and that should be enough for his simple minded best friend. James was still looking off at his friend in the distance, when a perfectly manicured finger poked at his shoulder. He whirled around to see a stunning Lucy, clad in a tiny black mini dress, her hair glowing dangerously and her eyes dark with lust and vodka.

"Well hello Lucy", James said, immediately getting into the girl's space. Usually he wouldn't have made it that far, but Lucy just giggled and snorted and put her hand on James' shoulder.

"Hey there cutie, rad party", she replied, crawling her fingers up James' neck and curling them in his brown locks.

"Is there a more private location we can go to and", she stood on her tippy toes and rested her full lips on the shell of James' ear "Talk". That went straight to the teenagers groin. He composed himself and flashed Lucy one of his most dazzling James Diamond smiles.

"Well of course there is beautiful, I just happen to have a cozy little shack and you know we can talk more privately in there", he grabbed onto her hips and pulled her closer. Just as their lips were about to meet in what would have been a deep, lengthy, alcohol induced kiss, A volleyball met with the backside of James' head. James turned around and looked for the jackass who assaulted him, he was furious.

"The FUCK", he screamed. Jett started laughing and James turned to him.

"We are out of alcohol asshole", Jett laughed. James rolled his eyes and turned back to a stunned Lucy.

"Babe don't worry I will be right back there's some down the beach", he gave her a swift peck on the mouth and left for his booze hideout.

As James traveled farther away from the party, with its lights and music, he found himself enjoying his short, serene walk to his stash. He highly doubted they were completely out of alcohol, but Jett and the others would have kept bugging the shit out of him until he atleast made sure they were well stocked. He was halfway there when he suddenly stopped and looked out at his vast love. He hadn't been to the beach since his near death experience, and now he couldn't find the will to look away. It was even more captivating at night, it wasn't brilliantly blue or anything, but jet black, and that made it all the more alluring. He stepped towards the water and let it wash over his feet. He let out a small sigh and rolled his neck. This was nice. For a moment his mind cleared from the haze it had been in for the last three hours, and he took everything in. He could here the music playing faintly now so he closed his eyes, inhaled the salty air, and started humming along to the familiar tune.

_I fell in love when I saw you standing there. It must have been the way. Today was a fairytale._

*Splash* James's eyes snapped open and he broke out of his daze when he heard the splash in the water, it sounded fairly close to the shore too. He slowly walked out of the water and started surveying the abyss. He scanned the surface, but nothing seemed amiss. 'This is insanity' he thought quickly to himself. The booze playing tricks and the night clouding his rational thinking. Frustrated he turned his attention back to the music which had long since changed songs. He was listening to Hot Chelle Rae's "I Like It Like That" when he decided to try something. This thought came out of thin air, and he was starting to think like Carlos.

"_I like it like that. Yeah. One more time. I can never get enough. Sing it right back I like it like that!"_

James paused here, watching the water with an intense, eager stare. His stomach swelled with butterflies and his heart gave way to a feeling he wasn't completely familiar with. After a minute he felt his hope give way. He slowly turned around and started heading for the forgotten drinks, when all of a sudden an angelic sound erupted through the waves and right into James' ears. It was such a gorgeous sound he could've sworn somebody had to have killed him and he had made it to Heaven. He slowly made his way back to the shoreline, straining to hear something, _anything_, in that melodic voice that had sang back something that sounded like a melody. There were no words, just a trace of the song that was playing. It sounded like the ocean itself was singing to him. It was over as fast as it had began and disappointment started to set in once again, as he strained to hear the sweet sounds again. He walked closer to the shore all the way up to his knees in the chilled waters, when he finally saw something that shook his entire being to the very core.

"_Those emerald eyes_" was the first thought that ran through James's mind. Those eyes were the same ones that had saved him from drowning earlier. The second thing he noticed was the hair, it was a gorgeous golden brown, water dripping from the ends of the luscious locks like small crystal dewdrops, glinting in the moonlight. But then he noticed the _face_ that these jewel eyes and golden strands belonged to, and he once again swore he had somehow made it to Heaven. This face was by far the most gorgeous, beautiful, _perfect_ thing James had ever laid eyes on, and from the blond's brilliant expression you could say he was thinking the same thing about the gorgeous brunet.

He stood frozen in time and space, mesmerized by the boy in the sea, the boy who was staring right back with curious, hypnotic green eyes and a smirk on his perfect features. James didn't feel like he could move, but the worst part was, he didn't _want _to move. Ever. He was content standing there with the frothy blue water forever. He didn't know how much time had passed; it could have been days for all James knew. But suddenly the green eyes broke away and looked back at the depths of the ocean, and before James knew what was happening, the boy turned back towards him, winked, and then with a splash and a flash of color, the angel boy disappeared under the waves and didn't resurface.

James stood for several minutes. Just staring at the spot where the boy had been. When he finally was able to collect his wits, he started sprinting towards the party. He was thrown back into the hot bodies, grinding in the most obscene ways. He spotted Lucy who quickly ran towards him.

"Yo, dude where were you, and where's the booze at", she inquired. James just shook his head. Shaggy brown hair falling into his eyes.

"Party's over", he mumbled. She gave him the biggest 'da fuck' look face she could muster.

"I didn't stutter, HEY GUYS THE PARTY IS OVER!", he screamed. Almost everybody let out an audible groan. The disappointment weighed heavily in the air around him, but James' couldn't do this right now, things were just not…right. For a second he was able to push down the sick feeling in his stomach and put on some Diamond charm for his upset guests.

"Don't worry; the second I get home I'm going to start planning the next party!" James announced with a smooth smile and a wink at some bikini-clad girls standing nearby. This announcement turned the whines and moans into cheers of ecstasy and a senior boy, whose name currently escaped James's mind, wearing only his swim trunks and a shell necklace to call out "You DA MAN James!"

"You know it!" James shouted back and reached up to high five some if the teenagers standing nearest to him. "But seriously guys, I do need to make it back home, so round up all your drunk buddies and get them home safely." And with that James unplugged the Christmas lights that had dimly lit the beach and left only a weak orange and red fire to illuminate the darkness. Slowly everybody gathered their passed out friends, some of them having to go into the forest of palm trees on the end of the beach to retrieve some of the more drunken teens.

After everyone else had finally cleared out leaving only Carlos and James, James turned around to find Carlos asleep and sort of curled in on himself on the chair at the bar counter. He smiled softly, he loved seeing Carlos asleep like that, it was adorable. He didn't want to wake the tuckered out Latino, so he carefully picked him up bridal style and carried him to his car where he then proceeded to lie him down across the backseat and cover him with a blanket. James turned back to look at the epic mess that covered the beach below in front of him. Slowly he gathered shot glasses, beer bottles, girls bikini tops, and a couple pairs of swim trunks that were strewn across the sand.

After throwing the 4 trash bags he'd managed to fill to the brim with garbage in his trunk, James walked back down to the beach barefoot, just enjoying the feeling of the cool sand sinking in between his toes and enjoying the sound of the waves gently pulling in and out of the shore. He sat down right at the brink of the shore and stared out at the almost full, pearl moon casting its reflection onto the glittering indigo water.

_Time slows down, whenever you're around. But can you feel this magic in the air? It must have been the way you kissed me_

He reflected on the boy with the emerald eyes and felt his breath hitch. He was frightened, and confused, and excited, and infatuated at the same time and that made for a horrible mix of emotions. He knew he'd have to tell Carlos in the morning he just..didn't want to accept that part yet.

James stood completely mesmerized for a minute before turning around ever so slowly and walking back to his car. When he got there, he found Carlos had rolled onto the floor and now had his thumb stuck firmly between his lips. With a soft chuckle James hopped in the driver's seat, put the key in the ignition, put the car in drive, and drove away from the beach and from the mysterious angel that lay beneath the waves.


End file.
